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Klamath Falls to Stayton, OR

We made it to Klamath Falls and were able to stay with a friend of Adam’s from Placerville. His name is Brogan and he is definitely a BRO! Super nice and great hospitality. His roommates were super cool too. When we arrived we had a little mini party downstairs in the pool table room and I was able to win a couple of games until I challenged Kyle. Dang, he is really good! I just need a little practice and I’ll be ready for a rematch. The next morning we went and checked out the OIT “Oregon Institute of Technology” campus. It is a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but is a very nice and peaceful place. Shortly after that, we drove through Moore Park which was very beautiful. I was hoping to stay 1 more night in Klamath Falls, but we needed to keep on schedule and get to Portland.

When we left Klamath Falls, we decided that we would to go through Bend, Oregon because we’ve heard awesome things. We ended up only going to the Costco in Bend and then wanted to continue to Portland. As we were driving on highway 22, there was little pop noise underneath Appa. About a minute later, the car was still running but didn’t have any drive train power which made me automatically think it was the transmission. We were forced to pull on the side of the road in a huge forest. I got out and checked underneath Appa, only to see a lot of smoke coming from the exhaust and catalytic converter and a reddish liquid all over the place. I then turned the engine off and we let it sit for about 10 minutes. I started it up again to see if we would be able to make it down the road we had turned off onto. I was able to get it in gear for a short time until we arrived at a little turnout on this one lane road. We didn’t have any cell service in this area, so we decided to campout for the night and wait until morning to reach out for help. We made Yakisoba (noodles and vegetables) for dinner and watched some Avatar before going to bed.

The next morning I woke up at 8AM and wanted to get an early jump on the day to ensure we would get out of the forest and to a safer destination. We made a sign that stated “PHONE ?” in big bold letters, using some white paper, duct tape, a sharpie, and the cardboard sign that Christian and Adam used in Hawaii when they were busking on the streets. Adam and I walked out to the main road where we could hold up the sign, pray, and hope that someone would stop soon. After about 10 mintues, an SUV had pulled to the side and turned around. Adam and I were jumping for joy and when the SUV came to us, we explained our situation and they were more than willing to help. The driver “Darren” asked me “Do you have any weed?” I said, “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” I grabbed a handful of Humboldt Kush nuggies and gave them to him. He was stoked and we were grateful for his help. Christian and Adam left to find a tow truck while I stayed with Appa.

While Adam and Christian were off getting help, I cleaned up Appa and mostly read my Astrology book that I picked up in an Arcata bookstore. It was printed in 1967 and is very interesting to read. I am currently reading about the zodiac signs and am almost done reading about Scorpio and about to begin reading about Sagittarius. After about 3 hours, Adam and Christian had returned with a tow truck. The driver was really nice and professional and was able to tow us to Stayton, Oregon which is near Salem. It was a $600 bill so we decided to upgrade to RV premier insurance with AAA so we can get 1 free (200 mile) tow and 3 (100 mile) tows if needed. The new policy doesn’t kick in until 48 hours and the automotive shop doesn’t open until Monday April 17th, so we have to camp out for 2 nights.

We are hoping for the best and that it doesn’t cost us an arm and a leg to get Appa fixed. If we do get Appa fixed, we will continue up to Portland and Seattle. In order to stay on track to get to New York by June 9th, we have decided to cut out Florida from our travel plans. I’m totally good with this! If Appa does cost us an arm and a leg and deems not worthy to continue, we will get Appa back to Placerville somehow and possibly take the Subaru across country. However, I have great faith that Appa will get repaired and we will be back on the road in no time. Please send us all of your prayers at this time as Appa needs some help mechanically.

Although this obstacle has occurred, our spirits are high and we are making the most of our time. Mahalo again for reading my blog and please leave any comments if you have any suggestions or just want to drop a line. Much love and Aloha to you world!